


You're a Guide, Harry

by 99Blackpanther99



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 20:46:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12779193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99Blackpanther99/pseuds/99Blackpanther99
Summary: Discontinued at present





	You're a Guide, Harry

**Author's Note:**

> This is a new fic I am playing with. I have some of it already written. Unlike my last fic the BDSM aspect will not be hidden, and Severus in particular could probably be considered as out of character for much of this. I’ve used the word slavery in the tags, because essentially that is what it is, but it is voluntary slavery and there will be none of the hurt/comfort that is often seen in slave fics. Please, please look at the tags however before reading the fic. I realised whilst writing the last fic that I have a few kinks I didn't know about :-), so pleeease look at the tags, and any ongoing tags that I will add. This is just an introduction but there will be stuff that will come into it as it progresses, (I have already written some scenes). 
> 
> Unfortunately this won't be updated as regularly as my last one, but I will aim for fortnightly. This will mainly be written from Harry's point of View but I will (particularly at the begining) be adding in Severus' point of view. This fic is just for fun, and I have no idea where it is going beyond the first few chapters :-) :-)

“Professor?”, Harry queried, stepping into the office.

Severus looked up, blinking at him a few times, as if he was clearing out some heavy thoughts, and needed to refocus. “Mr Potter”, he acknowledged, inclining his head.

“Sorry, you look deep in thought”, he apologised, feeling a little guilty for interrupting him. 

“Nothing that cannot wait, how may I help you?”, his ex-potion’s Professor asked mildly, his face blank.

Harry was still a little wary of the other man, despite the fact that he had been nothing but civil in the few weeks he had been helping out at the Ministry. “I wondered if you’d had a chance to look at the plans I sent you. I know I only sent you them last week, but seeing as you are only here for another week, I was hoping we might be able to discuss them”.

Harry was eager to discuss the plans, as he was hoping to make some headway in his development of organ regrowth. Following fairly decent grades at school, mainly as a result of Hermione’s consistent moaning about exams, he had decided that he wanted to go into medical research. He now worked for the medical advancement, development, and supply branch of the ministry. He loved his job, and had shown an aptitude for it since the moment he had started, three years prior, immediately after leaving school. He loved knowing that he was potentially making a real difference to people’s lives. Severus, on the other hand, volunteered here every summer for four weeks, in order to help restock the potion’s supplies for the major wizarding hospitals, but also to provide advice and support to anyone in the department who would benefit from his expertise. This was the first year that Harry was working on his own project, and therefore high enough in the chain of command to approach his ex-professor.

Severus nodded his head, “I have looked over them, and I have some thoughts. I was intending on catching you at some point today, so I suppose now would be as good a time as any”, he replied, gesturing at the spare seat in invitation.

Harry took a seat and contemplated on the general geniality of the other man, and how much it had taken him by surprise when he had started working with him. He had hated Severus during school, finding him snarky and unapproachable, which had been made all the worse by the fact that the Potion’s Master and his father had hated each other. Harry had later found out that his father had been a bit of an arse with him, and he supposed he could understand his general negativity towards him for being a Potter, though it hadn’t made it any easier to deal with. It wasn’t that the Potions Master had ever done anything particularly awful to Harry; he was just generally critical in his demeanour, but as a child who craved praise, Harry had found the other man difficult to deal with. As he’d grown into himself as an adult, however, he’d realised that his own self-esteem had been generally low, as a result of the upbringing with his aunt and uncle, and that he had been probably a bit too sensitive and self-blaming. So rather than seeing the Professor as generally snarky, he’d viewed it as a direct attack.

The first time Harry had approached Severus for help with his development, three weeks prior, it had raised all his old anxieties. Unexpectedly, he’d found the man generally agreeable. The moment that Harry had begun to discuss some of his projects and ideas, Severus had responded with an uncharacteristic level of passion, and they’d ended up debating for almost two hours. By the time they finished, he could tell that the other man held some level of respect for him. He wasn’t exactly overly friendly, but he was accommodating, and devoid of any actual criticism.

Bringing himself back to the present, Harry watched as Severus began searching in his drawers for the plans that Harry had sent him. The room took on an awkward silence, and never one for being able to manage uncomfortable silences, Harry decided to try for some small talk.

“Hey, did you hear that they announced this morning that Guide Sechan is retiring?”, he asked.

“I did”, Severus returned bluntly, making no further effort to extend the conversation.

“What do a Guide and Protector do when they retire?”, he asked, again filling the space in the room.

Severus answered him again in monotone, “I believe the Guide that retires takes on the process of mentoring the Guide who inherits the magic”, he returned, “As for the Protector, they continue to Protect their Guide until death”.

Harry thought about that, “Yeah, I get that. I suppose even in retirement the Guide has far too much knowledge.”, he sighed wistfully, “Sometimes I wish we had a bit more of an understanding of what they actually do, but I get that it would probably put the world at risk if the public did know”, he paused, flushing, as Severus merely stared at him, “Sorry, I just get quite caught up in the excitement when a new Guide and Protector are chosen, I love the way that people seem to come together to celebrate, and it lifts everyone’s mood”.

“It is something to be celebrated”, Severus replied, slightly fiercely, “It is a symbol that light magic continues to Dominate, and that the world continues to be protected. A Guide and Protector are not revered without justification”. Harry was taken aback at the strength of his reply, but he liked the fact that the other man was so passionate about it. The only other time Harry had seen him this passionate, was about academic pursuits, and he had to admit, that the level of passion suited him.

Harry wondered, inappropriately for that moment in time, whether the other man had a partner, and whether he was as passionate about their relationship. Over the last three weeks, despite their infrequent contact, Harry had found himself becoming attracted to the other man, though he would never have the guts to do anything about it.  Firstly, he didn’t know if the other man was attracted to males, secondly, he had shown absolutely no romantic interest in Harry, and lastly and rather importantly, Harry had started realising that he had a Dominant streak, that he was desperate to explore. Whilst he felt safe enough to have some rather erotic thoughts about the Potion’s Master, the reality of Severus ever allowing himself to be Dominated, was non-existent as far as Harry could tell. He’d snorted to himself inelegantly, as he’d thought about trying to have that conversation with the prickly man, a thought he had been having in the middle of the laboratory, causing some rather strange looks.

Harry hadn’t yet developed the courage to seek out instruction on his Dominant streak, because he feared the judgement that would come along with it. Unlike the muggle world, Dominant/submissive relationships were not something that was seen as wrong, but they were still generally hidden. Those type of relationships were the domain of Guides and Protectors, and to consider being involved in it, was to invite judgement on you as an individual, as to whether you believed yourself to be essentially ‘worthy’ of such a role. Harry had seen the gossip when other couples had been discovered to be involved in that type of relationship, and people could be derogatory or downright mean, with phrases such as ‘who does she think she is?’, and ‘hmph he thinks he would ever be ‘good’ enough’ for that’. It essentially invited others into your life, to judge you, and made you centre of attention, something which Harry despised. He was outgoing with his own friends, but he could be very introverted, always fearing the judgment of others. Harry was really beginning to wonder whether he would ever have the courage to explore it, and it made him sad to consider it, because he felt that it was a part of himself which he was denying. He shook his head of his now maudlin thoughts, and leaned forward, grasping the notes that the other man was holding out to him.

“There are a few areas in particular which I believe can be enhanced with the addition of potion’s, however, the initial ideas themselves are sound, and should, in my opinion, continue to be explored”, the Potion’s Master stated without tone. Harry felt his stomach jump, and he knew he was blushing slightly, but from a man like Snape, the words evidently were the height of praise.  

They talked eagerly for about thirty minutes, but as Severus had other appointments that day, they made plans to meet up again the following morning, both agreeing to begin work an hour early, so that they would have some extra time. Despite Harry’s pledge to himself that he wouldn’t let others dictate his self-esteem, he couldn’t help but feel buoyed by the fact that Severus seemed to see real worth in his ideas, and that night he found himself a little happier than he had been for a while. He knew he had been slumping slightly in terms of his mood, and part of that was because he was a little bored. He’d been single for over a year, and whilst he was lonely, he had sworn off men for a while. He hadn’t recognised he was gay until he was seventeen, after having a few unsuccessful and almost completely platonic relationships with females. He realised he had been reluctant to face the fact that he was, considering that his Uncle had made such a thing about how disgusting ‘gays’ were. When he had started dating, he had expected the papers to have a field day with it, but they had treated it no differently than if he had been dating a girl. He realised that the wizarding world didn’t have the same prejudices as the muggle world, but he still had difficulty in feeling comfortable with it, and he often felt like it was just another way that he was a ‘freak’.

After finishing school, he’d had his first real relationship, with an older man who had helped him to feel a little more comfortable with himself. That lasted about a year, and then he had dated another couple of older men, but neither of them had really worked out. He realised by that point that he had a ‘type’, and had decided to try dating someone about his own age. That had been a disaster. He’d been dating Bradley for over six months when he discovered that the other man was using his name to get into exclusive clubs and bars. He’d known how much Harry had hated the fame inherent with defeating Voldemort as a baby, but he’d gone ahead and done it anyway, and Harry had been rudely awakened to the fact that Bradley was dating his fame and not him. He’d decided, at that point, that he was going to stay single for a while. He knew he was far too sensitive, and he didn’t trust easily, but he also had a tendency to see the best in everyone, and want to throw himself into an exclusive relationship, which put him at risk of being hurt. He wanted a relationship in which he felt safe to give all of himself, and he didn’t know how he was going to be able to do that, and trust that the other person wouldn’t hurt him or leave him. 

Pulling himself again from his heavy thoughts, he went to bed. He fell asleep with the thoughts of the next morning’s meeting, and a little spiral of anticipation at seeing the other man again. He knew it was never going to happen, but it had been a while since he had fancied someone, and that in itself was a nice feeling.

…..

Severus’ P.o.v.

“Professor?”, a voice behind him intoned softly, and Severus looked up, slightly dazed. He had been contemplating whether to quit teaching this year, or to continue on for one more year. He had enjoyed the break away from the school over the last three weeks, and he knew it was not something he necessarily enjoyed, but quitting would also mark an end to that last hopeful curl that sat in the back of his mind. If he quit now and returned to the Sanctuary full time he would be admitting aloud that he had given up, and would be accepting that he was going to be alone forever. A bigger part of him, however, knew he was undeniably lonely, and at least on returning to the Sanctuary he would have friends, family, and companionship, both sexual and non-sexual.

“Sorry, you look deep in thought”, Harry apologised. Severus was touched by the genuineness of his reply, though he would never admit as such out loud. The younger wizard had certainly grown into himself in the last few years. He no longer jumped down his throat every time Severus wasn’t overly charming. Ok, he had to admit, charm was not exactly his strong point, and he did recognise he had been overly harsh on the students during those few years when he was struggling with his loneliness and bitterness at having never been chosen. He often felt guilty for the way he had acted. He had never exactly been the friendliest of men, but he had never really been deliberately nasty. What people did not know was that he was an inherently good person. He wanted to help people and keep the world safe, but his life hadn’t exactly been easy, and he’d never found the means of being able to make friends or be sociable in the real world. In the sanctuary he had many friends, because they understood him. He didn’t have to hide parts of himself, and he found it easy to be open and friendly. He only wished he could transfer that to rest of the world. He found it difficult to lower his defences, always afraid that he would be let down by others, but he felt safe in the Sanctuary. They were his family, and he didn’t need to hide behind walls, he was accepted simply for who he was.

He gazed at the young man again contemplatively for a brief second. During school, he’d somehow had a way of getting under Severus’ skin, winding him up in just the right way, until he would snap at him. He knew he had been overly harsh with him, and he probably regretted that the most. He’d realised later on, when he was calmer and had accepted what life had to give him, that Potter had been looking for approval from him, and that just made him feel even worse. Whilst he wasn’t one to apologise, he was attempting to make up for it now by helping him with his project. He had expected Harry to be difficult with him, but he hadn’t been, and he seemed to have accepted the unspoken olive branch. Severus found it quite easy to be amenable with him now, and he had found himself occasionally, over the last few weeks, with his thoughts resting on the young man in front of him. He couldn’t deny he was handsome and he was definitely a good person, which would always be an attraction for him. Severus had been unable to stop his brain from having some rather inappropriate thoughts about his colleague. It was harmless however, as he knew it would never lead to anything. The young man would never be able to give him what he truly needed; the one thing in the world which he truly longed for.

Harry began to ask about Guides and Protectors, pulling him away from his thoughts. Severus could tell that he was uncomfortable with silences, and it was merely a way of filling the empty space but there was some enthralling about the sheer excitement, and energy that emanated from him. He had seemed surprised when Severus had replied with passion on the subject, but he would never know the extent to which it was so close to his heart. Harry had seemed slightly entranced by him for a few moments, gazing at him with interest, as if he was trying to figure him out, and to see into the crevices that Severus kept so very well hidden. He’d had difficulty in hiding his blush at the way he felt almost on display for the other man. It made his stomach curl in desire and long for that feeling which had been so entrenched into him, of being open and on display. He vowed in that moment that he would spend the following weekend at the Sanctuary. He was desperate for companionship, and it had been too long since he had indulged himself. He had been slightly avoidant of returning however, as he had only last week received a strongly worded letter from his mentor, for the length of time since he had last visited. He knew that when he returned he was likely to be receiving a stern lecture, and that was if she was in a forgiving mood, otherwise, he was going to have difficulty sitting down for a couple of days. He grimaced to himself, and then had to force himself not to blush at the image that it conjured in his mind, because for one brief second his mentor had been replaced with a rather messy haired young wizard.


End file.
